The first event, on Oct. 20, will be free to students, while tickets to the two open-to-the-public appearances on Oct. 21 will cost between $35 and $2,500.

Ani Tenzin Lhamo of the Tibetan Association of Colorado said it's rare for the Dalai Lama — who turned 80 earlier this month — to schedule multiple events over consecutive days.

If you go

What: Dalai Lama in Boulder, Oct. 20-21

Where: Coors Event Center, University of Colorado campus

Oct 20: The event for CU students and staff will be held at 1:30 p.m. CU students will be able to claim one free ticket each on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 9 a.m. Sept. 19 in the Glenn Miller Ballroom at the University Memorial Center, 1669 Euclid Ave. A number of tickets also will be made available to CU staff and faculty for $20 each.

Oct. 21: The Dalai Lama will deliver two speeches, one on the "Eight Verses of Training the Mind" from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and the other on "The Wisdom of Compassion: Creating Peace, Happiness and Meaningful Lives in the 21st Century" from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Premier all-day tickets for the Oct. 21 event go on sale Wednesday and range from $250 to $2,500. Group sale tickets go on sale Thursday, and reserved seating tickets go on sale Aug. 3. Single-event tickets for the two Oct. 21 events go on sale Aug. 10 and range from $35 to $65, depending on seating.

"Almost everywhere he goes he only agrees to half a day, so it's really, really extraordinary that we are getting three different options," Lhamo said.

Lhamo said it's also rare for a visit to be planned so quickly, as it often takes three or four years before a date is announced.

But the Dalai Lama agreed to come to Boulder and finalized a schedule just more than a year after the Tibetan Association of Colorado and CU Student Government approached him about a visit.

Lhamo credits both the large Tibetan population in Boulder and Colorado, and the opportunity to speak to students.

"That shows his commitment to students," Lhamo said. "The message is, the youth are our hope for the future."

CU spokesman Ryan Huff said the university is excited to host the Dalai Lama and for the CU community to have its own session.

"This was really important for our students, and there was a lot of work that went into asking the Dalai Lama to come and then also being successful with him accepting the invitation," Huff said. "We feel honored to have him here over a two-day period, and it just shows that we are continually interested in hosting high-profile speakers."

Huff said the "vast majority" of the estimated 9,000 tickets for the Oct. 20 session will go to students on a first-come, first-serve basis, with the rest available to faculty and staff.

"We really try to make sure that our students are able to have access to these events at little to no cost," said Boneth Ahaneku, president of internal affairs for tje CU Student Government. "One of the things that we try to promote is bringing influential people from around the globe to our campus."

The second and third events, on Oct. 21, are open to the public and also will take place in the Coors Event Center. They're being hosted by the Tibetan Association of Colorado, and tickets will be available online.

Lhamo — herself a nun ordained by the Dalai Lama — has helped organize several appearances by the religious leader, and said his ability to make people both laugh and think makes him a great speaker.

"The combination of humor and intelligence and integrity is so unusual," Lhamo said. "He radiates the type of personal integrity that comes from a person totally comfortable with themselves."

Ahaneku — a fifth-year senior — said she is excited at the opportunity to hear the Dalai Lama speak in person.

"If I get the chance, that would be great," Ahaneku said. "I'm super excited and just counting down the days until October. It's going to be a really exciting month."

The visit will be accompanied by a multiday community celebration of Tibetan culture on Oct. 21, including Tibetan foods, an exhibition of Tibetan art and culture, traditional performances of dance and song, a Tibetan market and more.

Admission to the festival is $1 on the Leeds School of Business fields.

The current Dalai Lama — who was formally recognized as the 14th incarnation in 1950 at the age of 15 — was last in Boulder in 1997, when he spoke at both CU and Naropa. He previously visited in Boulder in 1982.

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